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Kaden grimaced. He better than anyone knew that what he saw on television wasn’t real. This was a small town with limited resources. Besides, it wasn’t as if it was a recent death. The bones had been lying there for fifteen years. Discovering what had happened so long ago would be a low priority for any law official.
Squaring his shoulders, Kaden determinedly focused on the reason he was standing in the middle of the frozen landscape.
“You were walking along this road?” He pointed toward the other side of the bridge, waiting for Lia to nod. Then he glanced over his shoulder in the direction they’d just come. “And Vanna was coming from town?”
“Yes.” Lia crossed to stand next to him. “I spotted her as she came around the bend.”
He glanced toward the empty fields that were divided by the sharp slope that led down to the railroad tracks. There was nothing for miles in that direction. On the other side, there was a thick layer of trees that made it impossible to see what was there. Even in the daylight, someone could hide in the shadows without attracting attention.
“You’re sure she came along the road and not out of the trees?” he asked the woman standing next to him.
The seconds ticked past as she tried to dredge up her memories. Finally, she shrugged. “At the time I assumed she was coming from Pike, but I suppose it’s possible she might have been somewhere else.”
“Are there any homes close by?”
“Nothing on this road. There’s an old hunting lodge that was converted into a rental space for weddings and family reunions. I think it was empty back then.” She frowned, glancing around as if mentally mapping out the area. “The Walsh farm is on the other side of the trees, but it would be a hike to get from there to here. Especially on such a cold night.”
Kaden glanced at her in confusion. “Why is the name Walsh familiar?”
“Their son, Cord, was one of the boys who found the skeleton.”
Kaden abruptly recalled his conversation with young Wayne. He’d tucked away the names in the hopes of talking to them at some point. Now he wondered if the proximity of the Walsh farm to Vanna’s body had any connection.
“A coincidence?”
Lia sent him a startled glance. “What else?”
Kaden didn’t press the issue. He would check out the Walsh family and the hunting lodge when he returned to Madison. There were plenty of online services you could use to investigate people and businesses.
There was no such thing as privacy.
He turned back to the road in front of him. “You said you saw the woman jump off the bridge?”
With a sharp nod, Lia moved to the very center of the bridge, reaching out to grasp the steel railing.
“Right here.”
Kaden joined her, not missing the edge in her voice. He couldn’t tell if it was fear or anger. Perhaps a combination of the two.
He gazed over the railing at the long pieces of steel and broken wooden ties that had been dug up to make room for the new tracks. It looked like a bulldozer had gone through and ripped out everything in its path.
“And that’s where they found the skeleton?”
“No.” Without warning, Lia spun around and moved to the other side of the bridge. She pointed toward a spot that had been cleared of snow and undergrowth to leave a large, bare patch of raw earth. “It was there.”
Kaden softly cursed. He understood this wasn’t like a fresh murder scene, where everything might be a potential clue. But the damage that had been created around the spot where the body had been found seemed like overkill. Almost as if someone deliberately wanted to destroy the crime scene.
He shook his head. Maybe later he would come back to look around. But not until he had a thick parka and a pair of insolated boots.
With a shiver, Kaden shoved his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket, trying to imagine how the body had gotten so far from the bridge.
“Obviously, she couldn’t have landed in that spot. She must have survived the jump.”
“That’s what I assumed after I went down that night and didn’t find her. Otherwise I would have gone for help.” Lia made a choked sound, as if tortured by her memories. “Now, I’m afraid she might have been seriously injured but managed to stumble far enough away I didn’t see her. If I had gone to the sheriff that night, I might have been able to save her.”
Kaden felt an unexpected urge to wrap her in his arms. As if it was his right to offer her comfort. He took a step back, making sure he didn’t do anything stupid.
“Or whoever killed her was waiting in the dark to make sure no one found the body. If this was murder, you’re lucky to be alive.”
